Smoke and Mirrors
by Crystal Rose of Pollux
Summary: When Balki finds out about the concept of Friday the Thirteenth, he finds out more than he bargained for about superstitions... and how his cousin might be in trouble, but refusing to believe it. Takes place in early season 3.
1. Make it Make Sense to Me

Author's note: Well, this is my first attempt at writing for this fandom, so I hope it goes well… The scene with Balki and Gorpley was partially inspired by agtchill13. Many thanks to her and to Linda and LuckyLadybug for plot help! And, as always, the characters aren't mine, but the story is!

* * *

Larry Appleton was attempting to enjoy his morning coffee as he reflected on how quiet the apartment was this morning. Usually by this time, his cousin Balki Bartokomous would be preparing some sort of Myposian breakfast, singing all the while. But this morning, he was nowhere to be seen. Either he was having a lie-in, or he had stepped out for breakfast. And either way, Larry was hoping he'd hurry up; they'd just barely started this new job at the _Chicago Chronicle_. Showing up late was the last thing they could afford to do.

Larry had raised the coffee mug to his mouth when the apartment door burst open. Startled, he jumped, subsequently yelping as some of the hot liquid poured onto his hand. He didn't need to turn around and see who had just bounded in.

"Good morning, Balki…" he sighed, wiping the coffee off of his hand with a dish towel.

"Morning, Cousin!" the young former sheepherder replied, his face beaming as always. "I just had breakfast at a dinner!"

"You mean a diner?" asked Larry.

"…Well, I guess you could call it that…" the Mypiot grinned. "Whatever sinks your boat…"

Larry looked as though he was about to correct him again, but then decided against it.

"I had a very nice talk with the waitress," Balki went on. "She said that most likely, there'll be very little business tomorrow."

"Really?" asked Larry. His tone reflected that he was not very interested in the conversation, but Balki didn't pick up on it.

"Cousin…?" the Mypiot asked, pondering over something. "Why did you not tell me about the thirteenth Friday?"

"The what…?" Larry asked, puzzled.

"She told me there will be less business because tomorrow is the thirteenth Friday," Balki said. "But it's June, isn't it? I'm sure we've had more than thirteen Fridays… Or did some of them not count?"

Larry stared at his cousin, still befuddled, and then glanced back at the calendar. And then, it suddenly made sense.

"I think you mean Friday the Thirteenth," he said, understanding. "Well… People say that it's a day of bad luck."

"Get out of the city…" Balki said, his eyes wide. "You mean there's a day that celebrates bad luck?"

"It's not a celebration," Larry informed him. "In fact, most people don't even believe in it. It's just a silly superstition. Didn't you ever have a day that was considered to be bad luck on Mypos?"

"Well of course we did; don't be ridiculous," Balki replied. "It's the day we shear she sheep."

"But isn't that how you make your living?" Larry asked. "How is that bad luck?"

"Oh, it's not bad luck, Cousin; it's the day of baaaaaaaad luck," the Mypiot grinned, imitating a sheep. He promptly slapped his knee, laughing at his own joke. "Where do I come up with them…?"

Larry stared at him, his face deadpan.

"I'm going to work…" he said, at last, running a hand through his brunet curls.

And Balki was right behind him, all smiles.

"So you don't believe in the thirteenth Friday, Cousin?" he asked.

"No, I don't," Larry informed him. "I don't believe in superstitions. It's not practical… I'd be in serious trouble if I did believe in them. Have you heard about breaking a mirror? It's supposed to give you seven years of bad luck if you break one."

Balki stared at him wide-eyed.

"Did you break one, Cousin…?"

"Not on purpose," Larry said. "It got smashed in the box I had kept it in when moving to Chicago."

"Oh, po po…" said the Mypiot. "So that skiing trip was disastrous because of--"

"No, it wasn't," said Larry, hastily driving the memory of that excursion out of his mind. "It's just a coincidence."

"And when we went to Vegaaaaas," Balki began, elongating the second syllable.

"No, Balki, that's another coincidence," Larry said. He was beginning to wish he hadn't brought up the subject now. "Just forget I ever mentioned it."

Balki proceeded to lose himself in his own thoughts, not sure that he would be able to forget it so easily.

* * *

Larry wasn't the last one to hear about Balki's discovery of Friday the Thirteenth (and how it could be compared, however loosely, to the day of sheep shearing). Balki was telling everyone he met about it. His mistake, of course, was telling Mr. Gorpley while Larry was at a meeting.

"I don't suppose Appleton believes in this story, either?" asked the irate man.

"Cousin Larry says he don't believe in any superstitions," Balki agreed. "He even told me of the mirror he broke, and how it's not really bringing him bad luck, and all the bad luck he's had since then is just by chance…"

The older man paused. Here was an opportunity to push this kid's buttons… And such an opportunity rarely ever presented themselves where Balki Bartokomous was concerned.

"Of course he'll say that," Gorpley said. "You know how neurotic he his; he doesn't want to believe in any of that… at least, consciously."

"…His conscience won't let him believe in it?"

"No…" Gorpley replied, harshly. "He thinks about it, but he doesn't think he thinks about it."

Balki looked at him blankly for a moment.

"Let me put it another way," said the older man, rolling his eyes. "It doesn't matter whether he believes in it or not. It only matters how things are. You seem to think that bad things have happened to him because he broke a mirror, but he doesn't. How do you know that you're right, and he's not?"

"I don't know… All Cousin Larry told me was that the mirror was _bustikoki_ when he moved to Chicago," said Balki, briefly slipping into his native tongue.

"Exactly. Now since he won't believe in it, that means someone else has to spring him from that seven years of bad luck. Someone who contributed to that bad luck…"

"Well, the only one who…" Balki trailed off. "Why you looking at me when you say that…?"

"Well, think about it…" said Gorpley. "Appleton comes here, looking to make it on his own for the first time, with no one holding him back. But he broke that mirror. And then who should show up at his door but you?"

Balki stared at the older man in horror. What was he saying!? Was his coming to America bad luck for Larry? Was he only here because of the broken mirror!?

"But… I help Cousin Larry…" the Mypiot rationalized aloud. "I help him…"

"He never asked for your help, now did he?" asked Gorpley. "You just showed up. Even he wouldn't be heartless to turn you away…"

"Cousin Larry did say at first that I could stay until I got a job…" Balki recalled. "But then he never mentioned it again…"

"And I'll tell you why; you don't choose your family. He's stuck with you," the older man replied, unfeeling.

"So I must undo the seven years of bad luck that Cousin Larry brought on himself…?" Balki realized, sadly.

"Seems that way," Gorpley replied. "And since tomorrow is Friday the Thirteenth, well… You'd better do it before midnight. He's got enough bad luck from that mirror as it is; who knows what will happen if he gets any more…?"

"But I don't want anything to happen to Cousin Larry…" said Balki, distraught. He muttered something in Myposian. "Mr. Gorpley, please tell me what to do!"

"Well, I'm no expert…" said the older man. "But I think you need to take a piece of the broken mirror and touch it to a tombstone."

Balki went pale.

"You mean… go to a cemetery…?"

"What's the matter, Bartokomous? You aren't scared of a little cemetery, are you?"

"Well, of course not; don't be ridiculous…" he said. "I'm not afraid of the cemetery… I'm… afraid of what's in it… On Mypos, we have legends of the terrible _zombiki_ that wander them… And then they throw _jamborikis_…"

"Here, we call them zombies," Gorpley informed him. "They're said to dance back-to-back… right before the grab you!"

He pretended to lunge at the Mypiot, who leaped backwards.

"But, hey…" the older man continued. "You want to save your cousin from tomorrow's curse of bad luck, don't you?"

Balki nodded, silently.

"Then you'll have to slip past those guys and complete the task…" he finished. "You caused the problem; you may as well fix it."

Balki nodded again, heading for Harriette and the elevator.

"Hold it, Bartokomous…" said Gorpley. "You fix that problem on your _own_ time."

"But, Mr. Gorpley…" the Mypiot pleaded. "The _zombiki_ don't come out during daylight… I thought…"

"Sorry, Bartokomous… Rules are rules, you know…" He flashed a rather smug smile. "Back to work."

He headed back to his office, leaving poor Balki standing there, stunned. The young man drew a heavy sigh, muttering something in his native tongue again.

"Balki…?" a voice asked, causing him to jump.

The Mypiot looked up to see Larry returning from his meeting.

"Oh. Good morning, Cousin…"

And right away, Larry knew that something was amiss with his cousin.

"You alright, Balki?" he asked. The Mypiot was certainly far less chipper than he had been this morning…

"Oh, sure. Your… Your meeting went well…?" Balki inquired.

"Well…" Larry sighed, reminded of his own troubles. "It could've gone better; I need to do another rewrite…" He shook his head in frustration.

Balki caught Harriette's eye, mouthing, "More bad luck…?"

The elevator operator shook her head in dismissal. Larry would be able to straighten things out, she hoped, as she closed the elevator doors.

"Uh, Cousin…?" asked Balki. "You… You don't like doing rewrites, do you?"

"Does anyone?" asked the curly-haired man. "But I guess all great journalists started this way." He stared off into the distance, clearly envisioning a bright future for himself. "Someday, Balki, I'm going to look back on all these rewrites and realize how much they made me grow as a reporter…"

Balki stared at him with an expression of pity.

_Oh, Cousin, if you only knew…_ he silently said. _Mr. Gorpley is right… You'll be doing rewrites until the seven years is up unless I do something…_

"Balki?" Larry asked, seeing him space out again. "You sure you're alright?"

"Oh, Cousin, believe me. _I'm_ fine," he promised. "I… I just was wondering where the nearest cemetery is…?"

Larry's eyebrows arched at the odd query.

"Do I want to know why you want to know…?" he asked.

"I want to know why you want to know I want to know?" Balki asked, confused.

"No, I…" Larry trailed off, running a hand through his curls again. "Never mind. You can look it up when we get back." Though he made a mental note to question his cousin about what was going on.

"Cousin…?" Balki said again. "You know you were telling me about the mirror on the way here…? About the one that--"

"The one that has nothing to do with that failed ski trip?" Larry finished for him. "What about it? It's history; there's not much to say…"

"Why you've never shown it to me…?" the Mypiot asked, trying not to seem too worried about the whole ordeal. It was a façade that wouldn't hold for very long…

"Well, I certainly wouldn't keep it, would I?" Larry asked, with a shake of his head. "I threw it out after I realized that it broke."

"You threw it away!?" Balki cried, far more frantic than he had intended. "Oh, Cousin, why would you go and do that…?" He moaned something else in Myposian.

"What else am I supposed to do with it?" Larry asked, concerned with his cousin's sudden change of emotion.

"Well, you could make reflective wind chimes…" his cousin replied, briefly sounding like his old self again.

"Balki, forget the mirror, okay?" said Larry, placing a hand on his shoulder. "The mirror has nothing to do with bad luck."

_It's more me than the mirror_… Balki thought, remembering Gorpley's words. Somehow, he knew he would have to find a way to break the curse of bad luck, even if it meant facing the whatever he had to…

But a lack of a mirror would complicate things very much indeed. Still, there had to be a way he could pull this off. And Balki Bartokomous was determined to find it.


	2. Quiet is Never Silent

The day passed by slowly for Balki; normally, he wasn't in such a rush to get home, but today was different. He was determined to try to find one surviving piece of the mirror; one had to exist, surely! Larry wasn't so meticulous as to get rid of every single fragment, was he…? Balki paused, reconsidering. Now that he thought about it, that sounded exactly like something Larry would do…

Mr. Gorpley, on the other hand, was pleased with his handiwork, and had been considering giving Balki extra work, but then decided against it. Things could get interesting if the Mypiot did end up going to the nearest cemetery. And Gorpley would want to be there if he did. The wheels in his head still turning, he let Balki go.

Larry ended up staying behind for a little while, trying to think up ways to improve his article. He was unaware of Balki's frantic search back at the apartment. But he soon found out the minute he walked inside.

The upturned sofa-bed blocked the doorway, the cushions scattered all over the floor; Larry had to clamber over it to get inside. Books were littered all over the floor along with various other items: Larry's self-help tapes, vases, kitchen utensils, bowls, pots and pans, and, on top of the heap, rested Balki's cherished sheep plushie, Dimitri. The drawers and shelves, which had been relieved of their contents, were also placed throughout the apartment.

Larry could only stare, his eyes wide and jaw dropped. It was as though the famous Chicago wind had swept in, formed itself into a tornado, and ravaged the apartment. But, no… he knew that the cause of this was not of anything Chicago-based, but of one overly zealous Mypiot.

"Balki!" Larry said, shouting to make himself heard over a din going on in his room. His room!?

"Welcome home, Cousin!" a voice called from the room.

"You call this a home!?" Larry asked. "No one can live in this mess!" As though to illustrate his point, he tripped over a stray drawer. "_Balki_…!" he yelled again, in exasperation.

The Mypiot swallowed hard upon hearing the crash and second call of his name. Leaving the mess in Larry's room as it was, he peered from the doorway.

"I didn't know you would be coming back at this time, Cousin…" said the sheepish sheepherder. "If I had known, I would've cleaned everything up--"

"Balki…" said Larry, making an effort to stay calm. "What on earth are you doing?"

"Oh, you know…" he said, gesturing around the room. "Just looking for a needle in a smokestack…"

"Oh, you're looking for a needle…?" asked Larry. "This needle wouldn't, by any chance, be shiny, reflective, and would otherwise be known as a piece of a broken mirror, would it?"

"Well…" Balki said, with a shrug. "It's possible…"

"Balki, I told you I threw the mirror pieces out," Larry said, with a shake of his head. "If I still had a piece, it would only be if I somehow missed it, and it wouldn't even be in here; it'd be in one of the storage boxes in the basement."

Balki stared at him in disbelief, his eyes clearly screaming, "_Now_ you tell me?"

But Larry wasn't looking; his attention was directed to the torn-up apartment. Watching his step, he hazard a glance into his room, finding it in a similar state. The door to Balki's room was partly open, too, and he could see the mess in there, too.

"Is there a place in this apartment that you _didn't_ turn inside-out…?" he asked, gesturing around.

Balki stared pointedly at the fireplace.

"I was going to look there next," he said, wondering if a piece had fallen into the hearth and stayed there all these months.

"Don't you dare…" Larry warned, dreading the thought of ashes scattered around the apartment. He looked around the place again in disbelief. "Balki, would you look at what you've done to the place!? I was going to ask Jennifer to come over for a while before we went out tonight; I can't ask her to come when the place is like this!" His voice was beginning to rise, but it was out of his control; he didn't know what Gorpley had told Balki. He had no idea of how guilty Balki was feeling as it was. "I don't even know if I can go out with her tonight at all; it'll be hours before I get this place cleaned up…!"

"No, Cousin…" said Balki, very quietly. "You go out with Jennifer… You can tell her that I'm busy doing something, so she don't have to see this…" He looked around at his handiwork, his heart sinking. This was, surely, another example of the bad luck he was giving Larry. "I'll clean it up."

Larry blinked, all righteous anger fading at Balki's forlorn mood became clearer.

"Balki, look…" he said. "Don't be too hard on yourself; I know why you were looking for the mirror, and I appreciate how concerned you are for my fortune. I'll help you clean it up when I come back, okay? In the meantime, do what you can."

"Alright, Cousin…" The pep was gone from his voice.

"Oh, Balki…" Larry sighed. "You know what? I'll just cancel--"

"No, Cousin, no!" Balki insisted. "You promised Jennifer you would take her out, and you should do that!"

Larry just looked at him, unsure of what to do.

"If it'll make you feel better, I'll go," he said. "But I changed my mind; I want you to relax while I'm gone. I'll come back, and we'll sort through all of this then…" He gave an involuntary flinch as he looked at the mess again. "But I don't want you cleaning all of this by yourself, okay?"

Balki nodded, sitting on the upturned sofa-bed.

Larry just stared at him for a moment, at a loss of what to say.

"Will you be alright?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm just fine, Cousin," Balki promised. There was nothing wrong with his fortune, after all. There was nothing wrong with him… except for apparently being a harbinger of Larry's ill luck…

Unsure of what else to say, Larry took his leave of Balki, heading to the girls' apartment. Jennifer greeted him, although confused.

"I thought we were meeting at your apartment?" she asked.

"Something came up with Balki," he explained. "Long story, but I don't think the apartment is the best place to meet right now…"

"Is everything alright…?" Mary Anne asked, her eyes wide with concern for Balki. She held the Mypiot very close to her heart, after all.

"He's fine…" Larry insisted. "He's just hung up on some silly superstition… He sort of… rearranged everything trying to find a piece of broken mirror…"

"Larry, did he break a mirror?!" Mary Anne cried. "That seven years of bad luck unless he takes a piece of mirror, and--"

"Mary Anne…" said Jennifer, staring at her best friend in disbelief. "It's just an old wives' tale."

"Oh, right…" the other said, but then she frowned. "But that still doesn't make me feel better; we're not old wives—none of us are."

"I would hope not…" Larry mumbled. "Anyway, you don't have to worry about it, Mary Anne; I was the one who broke a mirror, but that was nearly two years ago…"

He trailed off as Mary Anne headed for the door.

"Where are you going…?" asked Jennifer.

"To help Balki find that mirror piece," she said, flatly. "We're probably going to all go on a trip again someday, and I don't want a repeat of that ski trip we took!"

"Well…" said Larry, after she had gone. "At least they seem to be made for each other…"

"I suppose…" said Jennifer, in a tone that made her seem as though she was mulling something over—most likely Mary Anne's words.

"Jennifer, not you, too…!" Larry said.

"Oh, of course I don't believe in superstitions!" the flight attendant insisted. "But, still… You have to admit that it _is_ a coincidence…"

Now Larry was staring at her in disbelief.

"No, I don't…" he said. In a desperate attempt to change the subject, he decided that they could head over to the restaurant now.

"You _did_ remember your credit card this time…?" Jennifer asked, her eyebrows arched.

Larry flinched at her inquiry, but she had good reason—he had forgotten once. It could, perhaps, be construed as bad luck, but…

"Yes, I have it…" he sighed. "And it could've happened to anyone! …Mirror or no mirror," he added, as an afterthought.

Jennifer said nothing, still mulling over the coincidence of the matter.

* * *

Mary Anne, in the meantime, had made her way to the cousins' apartment.

"Balki…?" she asked, as she gently opened the door. She gasped as she saw the condition of the apartment.

"Mary Anne?" Balki asked, looking up. "Why'd you come by?"

"Larry told us about how you were looking for the mirror piece…" she said. "I thought I'd help you look for it…"

"Oh…" said Balki, touched. "Thank you, my little raisin-bran muffin, but Cousin Larry said that he threw out most of the pieces, and if any are left, they'll be in the basement storage in one of the boxes…" He looked around. "I'd like to clean this up first, but I think it's more important that I find the mirror since tomorrow is the Thirteenth Friday, and I want to free Cousin Larry from the curse of the mirror before midnight, otherwise his bad luck is going to get worse!"

They clutched at each other's shoulders.

"What do we do…?" Mary Anne asked, her eyes wide.

"Well, we… we have to go down to the storage basement and see if we can find the piece of mirror," said Balki, planting his foot on the upturned sofa-bed, as he worked the plan over in his head.

"And then we take it to the cemetery," Mary Anne agreed, planting her foot on the sofa-bed, too.

"Oh, Mary Anne, I cannot ask you to do that!" Balki exclaimed. "What if the _zombiki_ are having their _jamboriki_ tonight!? Mr. Gorpley says that they… they don't appreciate visitors very well…" He shuddered, and then looked back at Mary Anne. "And in all the movies, it's always the pretty girl they go after first…"

"But, Balki--"

"Mary Anne, please!" Balki pleaded. "I… I don't want to be the reason for your bad luck, too…!"

The blond girl blinked, staring at the Mypiot in confusion.

"What are you talking about…?" she asked.

"I… I found out that it's not just the mirror that is bringing Cousin Larry all this bad luck…" Balki admitted. "The mirror is part of it… It brought me here, and I'm bringing him more bad luck…"

"Oh, Balki…" Mary Anne said, sympathetically. "Are you sure there isn't some kind of misunderstanding?"

"I'm not misstanding under anything, Mary Anne…" said Balki, sadly. "Look around you…"

Mary Anne did so, going over the mess.

"Well," she said, trying to find the right words so as not to upset Balki. "I'm sure it's not most people's first choice of décor, but… It's not…" She trailed off, sighing. "Okay, so it's not décor at all… It is a bit of a mess, but you meant well, right? Larry understands that you're just trying to help him…"

"Cousin Larry didn't like this mess…" said Balki, giving the room another look-see. "He tripped on it, and he got upset…"

"I guess it would be a bit of a shock…" she agreed. "But that doesn't mean that you're bringing him bad luck. I get Jennifer into scrapes all the time… well, some of the time, maybe, but she's never said that I bring her bad luck! Even that time we were on that flight and I accidentally got some of one passenger's bourbon all over her blouse… She didn't blame me for it; though she did keep muttering something about turbulence every time she saw me for the rest of the day…"

"Oh, so _that's_ why I got light-headed when I walked by you two in the laundromat that one time…?" Balki realized. "I thought it was some strange new perfume…" He trailed off, trying to bring himself back to the subject at hand. "But even if Cousin Larry isn't blaming me for bringing him bad luck, that doesn't change the fact that I am… That… That is why I must break the seven-year curse."

"Will that make you stop bringing Larry bad luck, too?" she asked, not sure if she even wanted to believe such a thing in the first place. How could it be true, when Balki did so much for his cousin!?

"I hope so…" said Balki. "I… I know it's simple to get rid of the mirror's curse, but I don't know how to get rid of something like this…" Would he have to move—perhaps even go back to Mypos, if coming here was what caused it!? No, he didn't want to do that…! But if it was for Larry's own good… Oh, what was he to do!?

The former sheepherder now ran a hand through his hair. Well, first of all, he would have to find a mirror shard, it one still existed.

"Mary Anne," he said. "Let's go look for that looking glass!"

The young blond girl nodded and followed Balki out the door, hoping that everything would be alright with him.


	3. It Took Place in a Chicago Cemetery

Hardly anyone wandered into the basement—it served as the basement for the entire complex, and people knew better than to store things here that they knew they would be needing anytime soon. But Balki and Mary Anne spent nearly an hour searching through all of the boxes Larry had left there.

"Gosh, Balki… How many sets of self-help tapes does Larry have…?" Mary Anne asked, after opening a box of tapes and seeing some on top of the stacks.

"He says he don't use them anymore…" Balki replied. "But I'm sure some of them have to be music, right?"

Mary Anne took a look.

"Books on tape… more books on tape… even more books on tape…" she informed him as she went through the box.

"Oh, po po… He and I are going to have a discussion about this, let me tell you…" Balki said, with a shake of his head. "No, wait… I can't do that…"

"Why not?" asked Mary Anne.

"Because Cousin Larry wanted me to stop worrying about the mirror and the curse…" he said. "He won't like it if he finds out that we were looking for it…"

"Well, if he does find out, it won't be from me…" Mary Anne promised, opening another box. "Let's see… A few holiday decorations… some books… a piece of glass… a set of cufflinks…"

"What was that you said?" asked Balki, wide-eyed.

"A set of cufflinks--"

"Before that…?"

"A piece of…" Mary Anne trailed off, picking up the fragment. "…Glass… Balki, this is from a mirror! Is this the one we're searching for?"

"I don't know…" said Balki, taking the fragment from her. "I don't think Cousin Larry said there was more than one mirror. This must be it! Oh, thank you, Mary Anne, thank you!"

Mary Anne just grinned, pleased that she had been able to help. And Balki was looking much more cheerful now than earlier today.

"Now…" said the Mypiot, checking his watch. "It's 9:00…" He swallowed hard—it would already be dark.

"Larry and Jennifer should be back any minute now…" Mary Anne said.

"I have to go to the cemetery and break the curse before Cousin Larry finds out what I'm doing…" said Balki. "There… There's going to be all sorts of things in there…"

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" she asked.

"I'm… I'm sure," he decided. "But… just in case something happens to me, and I don't make it back… There's something I need to tell you, Mary Anne—something that you absolutely have to know."

"Yes, Balki?" she asked, holding her breath for a heart-wrenching confession of love.

"…I want you to have Dimitri," he said, his voice cracking as he hugged her.

He did not see the blank look of disappointment on her face.

"Of course, Balki," she said, with an inaudible sigh.

Balki was out the door and had hailed a taxi, heading off towards the nearest cemetery only five minutes before Larry and Jennifer had returned.

"How did it go…?" Mary Anne asked.

"It was actually an enjoyable evening," Jennifer admitted.

"See? I told you that there was no bad luck involved…!" said Larry. "Speaking of which, what's Balki up to? Is he still looking for any last surviving fragments of mirror?"

Mary Anne froze.

"Uh… Balki who?" she asked, saying the first thing that came into her mind. Jennifer gave her an unreadable glance.

"He's looking in the storage cellar, isn't he…?" Larry sighed. He headed in that direction as Mary Anne started biting her fingernails in nervousness.

"Mary Anne…" said Jennifer. "Do you know where his quest for a mirror shard took him?"

"Oh, he found the shard…" said Mary Anne. "He left five minutes ago."

And now Larry froze in his tracks.

"You let him go!?" he asked. "Mary Anne, don't you realize how late it is!? He could trip over one of the stones or something!? Did he say which cemetery he was going to!?"

"All he said was that he wanted me to have Dimitri if he didn't come back…!" she said. "There was no stopping him."

Larry slapped his forehead.

"Fine…" he said. "I'll just have to bail him out of whatever trouble he's in… just like I always do…"

"Maybe he's not in any trouble…" said Jennifer. "If all he's doing is touching the shard to a stone, he should be in and out of there in minutes…"

"…Unless something else comes up…" said Mary Anne. "Oh, why did I let him go like that!? I should've insisted that I go with him--"

"Well there's nothing we can do about that now," said Larry. "You girls stay here; I'll go find him. There are a few things I need to tell him."

"Go easy on him, Larry—he was only trying to help…" said Mary Anne.

"If I had a dime for every time he tried to help, I wouldn't have to go to work a day in my life…" Larry replied.

With a sigh, he headed back out to his car after quickly looking up where the nearest cemetery was.

* * *

The weather had been damp recently, so Larry could see the recent tread marks in the water on the road near the cemetery; Balki had clearly just arrived. Oh, it would be easy to let him go on with the whole crazy idea, but Larry wanted to make a point.

Pulling off to the side of the road and grabbing a flashlight, Larry headed inside the cemetery gates. Memorial plaques and stone angels greeted him, as well as flags and flowers left by visitors. The regular headstones would be further into the cemetery, he knew.

Walking further, he shined his flashlight around as he arrived at an area full of headstones and weeping willow trees. Balki should be here if he was looking to break the curse… But where…?

A hand suddenly clamped onto Larry's shoulder. And Larry responded with a reaction that anyone would've done had they been alone in a cemetery with a hand clamping down on their shoulder—a scream.

This, in turn, resulted in another scream coming from behind him. Larry turned on the spot, the flashlight beam illuminating his cousin's face as another flashlight beam landed on his own face.

"Don't you ever… _ever_ do that again…" Larry fumed.

Balki just stared back at him, his face pale. Slowly, though, he blinked back to awareness, and then stared at his empty hand.

"Oh, po po…" he said. "Cousin, I dropped the mirror piece…"

"Balki…" said Larry, covering his face. "Can't we just go home?"

"But, Cousin, I had almost finished…!" Balki protested, getting on his hands and knees to try to find the fragment. "Oh, to be so here and now so far!"

"Balki, I've had enough of this…" said Larry, kneeling to pull the Mypiot to his feet. "We are going home right…" He trailed off as he heard a stick crack from a couple yards away.

Balki looked up, too, forgetting about the mirror.

"…Did you hear that…?" Larry asked.

"I was hoping I didn't…" Balki admitted. "Cousin… You didn't bring anyone with you here, did you…?"

"No… Did you…?"

"No…" Balki replied. "Which can only mean one thing: we are not responsible for this new arrival." Another stick cracked, prompting Balki to get to his feet, clutching Larry's shoulders.

"Whoever it is didn't use the cemetery entrance; I would've seen him or his tracks…" Larry hissed.

"Maybe because he was here all this time…?" Balki asked, in a meek voice.

Another stick cracked, and a shadowy figure began to emerge from behind a tree. The cousins both yelled in unison, turning back the way they came.

"Wait," said Balki, stopping short. "The mirror! I need to get the mirror--!"

"Balki, will you forget the mirror!?" Larry yelled. "That thing is right behind us!"

"But, Cousin--"

Balki was cut off by a roar from their pursuer. The figure was still cloaked in shadow, but sounded so unearthly…

"Balki, come on!" Larry yelped, practically dragging him along. Suddenly, Larry stopped short.

"Cousin, why are we stopping? You said you wanted to leave…" Balki began. The figure was still pursuing them.

"I know…" said Larry, beginning to panic. "But I can't remember which way is out…!"

They both glanced behind them nervously. The shadowy figure had slowed down now, approaching them slowly, its arms outstretched.

"_Zombiki_!" Balki yelled at it. "Leave my cousin alone!" He proceeded to scold the approaching creature in Myposian.

Larry glanced ahead, seeing the fence around the cemetery. They weren't near the gate, but they would have to climb over the fence—the creature was blocking the path out, and Larry didn't feel that vaulting over headstones was a good idea, both practically and morally.

"Balki…" he said, pulling his cousin towards the fence. "Back here…"

"But we'll be trapped like mats!" Balki protested.

Larry didn't bother to correct him; he just indicated the fence.

"We can climb the fence and get out of here," he said. "Do you think you can climb that?"

Balki gave him an incredulous look.

"I should be asking you that, Cousin…" said Balki. "You're not exactly a candidate for _Sports Illustrated_…"

Larry glared at him, but decided to let it drop.

"When I say 'now,'" he said, through gritted teeth. "We make a break for it."

Balki nodded as the creature crept forward, its arms outstretched, moaning.

"Now!" Larry said.

But as Balki had predicted, he was the better climber of the two. It took him only seconds to scale the fence. Larry was struggling, and was only halfway up when he felt the creature grab his ankle.

"Balki…!" he yelped.

Balki glanced back down, and now a fire awoke in the Mypiot. No _zombiki_ was going to get his cousin—not on his watch! He leaped from the top of the fence, tackling the creature, and then immediately climbing back up the fence as Larry reached the top.

With a roar, the creature stood, clutching its side, where Balki had landed on him, and started to climb up, too. But partway up, its foot slipped between two of the metal poles of the fence. With a roar, it fell back down, but its fall was halted as it hung from the fence, its ankle caught between the two poles.

Balki and Larry didn't stop to marvel at this; they both ran around until they found Larry's car and both got inside it, locking the doors and pausing to catch their breath.

"See…?" Balki asked, miserably. "If I had been able to touch the mirror to the stone, the _zombiki_ wouldn't have come to chase you…"

"Balki, that thing was after you, too…" Larry said.

"No, he was after you…" the Mypiot said. "I was the one bringing you bad luck, so I wanted to undo it by touching the mirror shard to the stone…"

"_What_…!?" Larry asked. "What do you mean you were the one bringing me bad luck…!?"

"You broke the mirror coming from Madison, and then I showed up when you didn't want a roommate…"

"Balki… that has nothing to do with luck; that's…" He trailed off. "Well, I'm not sure what it was, but it certainly wasn't bad luck, if that's what was bothering you all this time…!"

"But Mr. Gorpley said--"

"Oh, Balki…" said Larry, slapping his forehead. "Do yourself a favor… Don't ever count on Gorpley for matters like these. In fact, you should take pretty much everything he says with a grain of salt."

"You want me to have salt shaker when I talk to him…?"

"No…" said Larry, with a sigh. "It's just that you can't believe what everyone tells you, Balki. You're my cousin and my best friend, and I'm glad you came. And you were the reason why I was able to escape from that zombie just a few minutes ago. That was very brave, taking him on like that…"

Balki just shrugged.

"I didn't want him to get you…" he said. "So I made sure you got away."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'd call that good luck for me," said Larry. "You're not responsible for any of the 'bad luck' that happens. In fact, you've pulled me out of a lot of jams that I got myself into."

Balki blinked.

"I guess so…" he smiled. He glanced back at the cemetery. "We should come back tomorrow and pick up the mirror piece."

"Balki…!" Larry groaned. Hadn't he gotten though to him at all!?

But Balki glanced back at him, with a smile.

"But of course we must, Cousin. After all, I'm no Jitterbug!"

Larry blinked, and then smirked.

"That's litterbug," he corrected him.

* * *

Jennifer and Mary Anne were both relieved to see that they were alright, and even thought Friday the 13th dawned the next morning, Balki pushed his nervousness aside as they headed for work at the _Chronicle_.

The first thing they noticed was how much grumpier than normal Mr. Gorpley was that morning.

"Wow…" said Larry. "I wonder what's eating him…" He trailed off as Balki's eyes widened in utter horror. "Balki, it's just an expression…!"

But the Mypiot was already approaching his supervisor, making sure that there were no hungry wolves or bears trying to stalk him.

"What are you doing, Bartokomous…?" Gorpley asked.

"Looking for dangerous animals…" the former sheepherder replied. "Cousin Larry said--"

"That's enough…" said Larry, clapping a hand over his cousin's mouth. "We just couldn't help but notice that you seem to be in a worse mood… worse than usual, I mean."

"Oh, did your wife ask for an advance in alimony?" Balki asked, in a muffled voice.

"No, she didn't," the obnoxious man replied. "Just get to work and leave me alone!"

Gorpley walked away, but there was a noticeable limp in his step.

"Gosh, Cousin, maybe some animal _did_ attack him; he walks like his ankle was bitten…" said Balki, quietly.

But Larry's eyes narrowed.

"Yes he does, doesn't he…?" he asked, recalling how the "zombie" had gotten its ankle stuck in the fence the previous night. "But I think Thursday the 12th proved to be just a little bit more unlucky for Gorpley than he expected."

With a satisfied smirk, he went upstairs to submit his rewrite.

Balki just shrugged to himself, singing in Myposian as he got to work. He wasn't bringing bad luck to his cousin; that was all that mattered to him.


End file.
